Behind the Secret Window [Hardcover]

Nellie Toll (Author)

Book Description

For 13 months during World War II, the author and her mother were hidden from the Nazis in the house of a Gentile couple in Lwow, Poland. Eight-year-old Nelly began keeping a diary and producing brightly colored paintings that transformed her grim reality into an enchanting fantasy world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Toll was only six years old when the Nazis marched into her native Lwow (Poland) in 1941. Although her childhood had been shattered two years earlier by the advent of the Russian Army, she and her family were to undergo the full depredations of the Nazis' anti-Semitism. In a remarkably even yet childlike tone, Toll describes persecution by neighbors and former servants as well as the Germans, and we watch as her world shrinks, from an affluent home to cramped quarters in a ghetto to a tiny, hidden room in the Gentile part of town. With her mother, Toll spent more than a year in hiding, dependent on the goodwill of their mercurial Polish patrons, who more than once lost their courage and almost evicted the refugees. While her mother fended off the unwanted attentions of their host and while everyone dodged the suspicions of neighbors, Toll wrote stories and painted pictures, conjuring for herself the pleasures of a normal childhood. Twenty-nine of her watercolors are included here; their poignancy is matched only by the art in I Never Saw Another Butterfly . Without emphasizing horror and loss, Toll conveys the effects of human evil and human folly, summoning up the forces of tragedy and courage. Ages 10-up. (Apr.) It's raining cats and more cats: Mexican villagers relish the antics of The Twenty-Five Mixtec Cats (Tambourine).
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Dial; 1st edition (April 5, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803713622
• ISBN-13: 978-0803713628
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,503,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching..., May 13, 2000

By 

S. McCasland "Playwright and Director" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Behind the Secret Window (Hardcover)

We were given a World War II book report in English. I chose this book over Anne Frank. The way Nelly Toll told her story, it made you feel as if you were there, hiding in a small room, waiting for the Gestapo to leave, and praying that they don't find you. Even though her family was hunted by the German army, the Nazis, she continued to read, and write, and paint. Though the story has a sweet, and happy ending, sadness does lurk behind it. I highly recommend this book!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very touching book, May 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Behind the Secret Window (Hardcover)

Nelly Toll's story is very passionate and descriptive. She really allows the readers to visit her emotions. This book is an excellent choice of literature for classroom use on the Holocaust--one that probably is overlooked.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars behind a secret window by nelly S. toll a reveiw by angela, June 20, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Behind the Secret Window (Hardcover)

This book is a memory of Nelly Toll's childhood experiences during World War II. She battled so many things none of us could imagine. She lost very much during the war but always had hope.
The main characters in this book are Nelly, her mother, and pani pan Wotjek. (They are Christians willing to hide them).
This book takes place mostly in Poland 1943-1944. She also goes to Hungary. She spends most of these two years living indoors.
It's a very in-depth look at the war. To me it seems almost fictional. It's amazing how much she remembers about how she felt.